CHRIS CROSS: Chris Kreider, a rookie out of Boston College with just five games of NHL experience, makes a big block on a shot by the Senators’ Erik Karlsson during the second period of the Rangers’ 2-1 Game 7 playoff win last night.Getty Images

It seemed like hot air before the game, but afterward it was clear: Not only does Rangers coach John Tortorella trust rookie Chris Kreider in every situation, he is now leaning on the 20-year-old with five career NHL games under his belt in the most crucial of situations.

Kreider, only 16 days removed from signing his first professional contract, played three shifts in the final five minutes of last night’s 2-1 Game 7 win over the Senators in their opening-round playoff series. With the season on the line, there can be no bigger compliment from Tortorella.

“[Kreider] has no fear and that’s what I like about him,” Tortorella said. “He has some things we have to work on, but we can’t start now, we have to start on them next year.”

Next year is now delayed for at least another series, as the Rangers prepare to play the Capitals in the second round.

“You saw where I had him tonight,” Tortorella said. “He was playing when a few other guys weren’t, and he deserved to be there.”

Although Kreider did not make it onto the score sheet, he was at times the best player on the ice among two teams loaded with some of the world’s finest hockey players. But for a guy who won two national championships in his three years at Boston College (most recently when the Eagles beat Ferris State on April 7, three days before he turned pro), Kreider has his priorities strictly in order.

“I’m definitely handling it in a way where I’m not really concerned about how I’m doing personally, but I’m trying to help the team win,” Kreider said. “I think that’s what makes this team so good: everyone holds themselves accountable and it’s a lot of fun.

“It feels good [to play well], but it feels better to win.”

Kreider’s most obvious singular contribution came in the second period, with the Rangers and Senators deadlocked in a scoreless game that seemed as if it could keep the series running into the wee hours. But Kreider forced a neutral-zone turnover from Nick Foligno, which got to Ryan Callahan, who got it to Derek Stepan, who then threaded a pass across the ice to Marc Staal, who tapped it in for a 1-0 Rangers lead.

“Those little plays are huge in a series,” Tortorella said of Kreider’s forced turnover. “That’s the difference. We made a couple more of those.”

For Kreider, it has been a whirlwind since he first joined the team on April 11. He wasn’t slated to play until Carl Hagelin got a three-game suspension for concussing Daniel Alfredsson in Game 2. After a tentative debut in Game 3, Kreider was demoted to the fourth line, where he proved to become more assertive with each shift.

By Game 6, he was on the second line with Stepan and Callahan and ended up scoring his first NHL goal as the game-winner to keep the Rangers season alive.

“The way he was able to step into this situation and play the way he did and play the minutes he did,” Callahan said, “it says a lot.”